Tour Diary | Slightly Stoopid | Part Three

All photos by Steven Limentani:

My third installment of the Kickin’ Up Dust Tour Diary found us in Chesterfield, VA inside Pocahantas State Park. What a beautiful place! We pulled in to the venue early on the morning of August 14th. Trees, sunshine and more trees.

I took my mountain bike out for a spin and I found some great trails to ride on. This was our first visit to this venue and the crowd did not disappoint! Good vibes for the Tribal Seeds and the crowd started filling in fast and then atmosphere got it poppin’. By the time we went on there were a few thousand people out there! Words don’t do justice to the way that makes us feel. We thrive on crowd participation and Stoopidheads are a loyal bunch.

Show 19: House Of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC -We have been coming here for years now… One thing that sets this place apart from other House Of Blues venues is there is an alligator farm right outside the venue. It’s a cool place, there are snakes and other animals too. Definitely go at feeding time! After a backstage Insanity workout and a heavy veggie juice session, we sound checked and worked on some music. Dela and I walked over to this Greek place and grabbed some good dinner. The beach was walking distance away, but it was raining and crappy out, so no one braved the surf check. We had a good show and the crowd was bonkers. Crowd surfing, moshing during reggae songs, just generally rowdy. That’s just the way we like it… We have been ending most of the shows by playing “No Cocaine” with the Tribal Seeds guys and Slug coming up to guest.

Show 20: Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh, NC -This is a great outdoor ampitheater right in the center of the city. It’s tucked between several buildings and some train tracks. We last played here two years ago with Rebelution and Schwayze. Good to be back. I went for another long ride today, and actually got a flat tire. Luckily had patches and got it sorted out. It was comfortable out. Not too humid. We have been getting in a good groove musically. Playing similar sets, but performing them cleanly.

Show 21: Time Warner Amphitheater in Charlotte, NC -Rain rain go away…don’t come again any other day…dumping all day. Slows down your exploration ability. This day was all about cruise control. Staying near the fort. The guys were watching movies and playing video games and pulling a few tubes. The usual. Luckily the weather kinda cleared up near show time and left it humid as all hell, but not raining. We did a longer set this night, mixed up a few older songs too. We have been playing a mix of all the albums just about every night. Next morning I flew home to see my family for a few days!

Show 22: The Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA -Right back in…the usual routine. Wake up. Figure out where you are. Find coffee. Bathroom. Shower. Food. Contemplate working out in some form. Work out. Sound check. Food. Time. Show. Drink beer. Drive to next venue. Repeatrepeatrepeatrepeat!!!!!

I went for a hot run around town. I really like ATL. Not sure why. I’ve been there probably 20+ times for 24 hours each visit. You go off the vibe of the town. If it feels cool, it is. In my experience. We have played The Tabernacle a bunch of times now. It’s a big temple-y sounding reverb tank that makes for a good show when filled in with bodies. C$’s dad came out to hang, and he was asked to MC the show. He introduced the band. Classic. He is comfortable on the stage and was formerly a professional actor. We like having guest MCs. Our sound engineer Josh has been handed the job most nights. He does it well.

Show 23: St. Augustine Amphitheater in St. Augustine, FL (in August) -Hahaha. Yes, I am a pain in the ass. Couldn’t resist the overuse of August(ine). We are winding down! Only a few shows to go now. Light at the end of the tour… Or tunnel… Nothing out of the ordinary here. We find a routine and stick to it. Insanity sessions, drinking too much coffee, eating, smoking, drinking, video games, practicing… The way Slightly Stoopid kills time. Sometimes there’s nothing else to do but hurry up and wait. You wait for sound check. You wait for food. You wait for the next show. You wait for your friends to come to the next show. It’s not bad it just is. When you are miles away from home and live with all of your co-workers. Yes, another hot n humid show.

Show 24: Cocoa Beach Riverfront Amphitheater in Cocoa, FL -Pray for surf! Yeah we got some fun waves. Our buddy JJ came and took Kyle, Dela and me out for a surf. We used the Solid Surf Co. Logo Boards that Dan O’Hare made us in San Diego. They worked well! We surfed them in Virginia Beach a few times too. Nice double use of stage props huh? The waves were good and we were also introduced to Sean Slater and checked out his new shop called The Surfhouse. Cool spot. He was shaping boards and took a break so we could meet him. He was on the guest list for the show, but i’m not sure if he made it or not. Either way he is a nice guy. Post surf straight to JJ’s secret sushi spot! Amazing! I wish i could remember the name of the place so I could plug it. It’s at the La Quinta Inn in Cocoa Beach. Great food. We missed sound check but got back in time for a meet n greet. I met a ton of really cool people and was given a couple t-shirts by this military diver and his wife. Fun show! Good after party too. People were hanging out drinking all night.

Show 25: Sunset Cove Amphitheater in Boca Raton, FL -What should have been the last show of the Kickin’ Up Dust tour… Wasn’t. We still had to make it back up to NJ to play The Stone Pony. We had heat all day. And at night for the show, rain. And lightning and more rain. Luckily we were under a shell. The crowd got soaked. Some left. Most stayed. I was a good inspired set. Sometimes knowing we are about to have a couple days off makes the band play better. I had some family there and we did the Cuban food thing. It’s a family tradition. Cuban food. Love it. Fortunately we had it again late night.

…Drive north back to Asbury Park, NJ to play The Stone Pony…

We stopped in Richmond and had a killer hotel parking lot barbecue, Jamaican style. C$, Jafada and Don Carlos hosted an awesome spread of fish with rice and peas, chicken wings, lots of revolution vodka, and beers too. It was great, we just acted like we owned the place. Pulled the bus up, unloaded the trailer, set up the bbq and tents etc. It’s on!!!

Fun night…. One more show.

Show 26: Stone Pony Amphitheater in Asbury Park, NJ -We had to postpone this show three weeks earlier due to a really crazy storm forecast. 90% probability of lightning, thunder, rain and more… Needless to say the show was put off. Luckily the second time around we scored. The weather was great and the show was too. We finished strong. Played a long set again. Fitting for the last show. It was just us and atmosphere this night, as the tribal seeds had other shows already booked and couldn’t do the make up date. And that is it!!!! We are done for now… I gotta say it has been a hell of a year. Busy busy busy. I know all of us are ready for some home and family time. I feel it’s well deserved after almost 8 of 9 months on the road this year.

Until next time….
Do what makes you happy!

-RyMo